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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · prune · pass · pitch · cold · rash · track · spring

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. track — a song
  4. pitch — completely
  5. track — to keep track
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. rash — hasty
  10. spring — of water
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spring — the season
  14. rash — a series
  15. rest — a break
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pass — a permit
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rest — what's left
  22. track — a path
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pass — to spend time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com